By FCF Staff

Eduardo Dantas will no longer defend the bantamweight belt versus Joe Warren at Bellator 118, as a head injury has forced the champion to withdraw from the May 2nd card.

As a result, Bellator has announced that Warren will take on fellow tourney winner Rafael Silva, which will be hosted by the Revel Casino in Atlantic City.

“We take head injuries very seriously, and when we were notified that Eduardo was dealing with a head injury, we immediately flew him from Brazil to California to be examined by some of the leading specialists in the field,” a press release from Bellator relayed. “We are hopeful Eduardo will be able to resume his career later this year, but in the interim we have two incredible tournament winners ready to challenge for the Bellator World Title.  Two of the best on the planet in Joe Warren and Rafael Silva will fight for the title and when Dantas is able to return, he will challenge the winner for the undisputed Bellator World Title.”

Warren (10-3) took out Travis Marx at Bellator 107 to secure a title shot, while Silva (21-3) defeated Anthony Leone and Rodrigo Lima to win last year’s “Summer Series” tourney.

Here is the updated line-up for Bellator 118. The event’s main card will be broadcast on SPIKE.

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Interim Bantamweight Title Fight: Rafael (21-3) vs. Joe Warren (10-3)
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinals: Andrey Koreshkov (15-1) vs. Sam Oropeza (11-2)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Marcos Galvao (15-6-1) vs. Thomas Vasquez (7-0)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Opening Round: Liam McGeary (6-0) vs. Mike Mucitelli (6-0)

PRELIMINARY CARD:
Welterweight Feature Fight: Gemiyale Adkins (8-6) vs. Dante Rivera (15-7)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Jesus Martinez (8-5) vs. Ryan Contaldi (7-7)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Tim Woods (6-4) vs. Eugene Fadiora (13-1)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Joe Pingitore (4-1-1) vs. Darrion Caldwell (4-0)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Jay Haas (11-13) vs. Lester Caslow (11-9)
Catchweight Feature Fight (151lbs): Julian Lane (6-3-1) vs. Anthony Morrison (18-10)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Mike Bannon (5-1) vs. Sidney Outlaw (2-0)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Amran Aliyev (3-2) vs. Kevin Roddy (13-15-1)